Your cynicism is understandable, but corrosive nevertheless. Reality cannot be boiled down into platitudes, whether they are sentimental or cynical. It tends, however, to confirm your presuppositions. So it’s better to begin with the assumption that everyone acts in their perceived self-interest at any given moment, and wisdom and experience help us distinguish between apparent (short-term) and actual (long-term) self-interest. And everyone, depending on circumstances, is capable of the whole spectrum of ethical behavior, from cruelty to kindness and generosity; from greed and hatred to benevolence. And by the way, “political correctness” is a mindless right-wing sneer term, devoid of any stable meaning—just as they now use “woke.”